Posts Tagged ‘tax incentive’

Right now, there is an estimated 3,000 federal, state and local credits and incentives valued at more than $50 billion available to your business. Find out what you can do to capture a piece of the billion-dollar-pie.

If you had a chance to claim thousands of dollars, would you? Well, if you are a business owner, the opportunity is staring you right in the face. But you have to seize the opportunity sooner rather than later.

Right now, there are around 3,000 federal, state and local credits and incentives valued at more than $50 billion available to your business. These opportunities are both statutory and negotiated and include hiring credits, investment credits, real and personal property incentives, utility rate reductions and infrastructure grants – just to name a few. Unfortunately, only a relatively small number of companies are taking advantage of these opportunities.

So why aren’t businesses seizing these opportunities for cash flow enhancement and return on investment? Sometimes companies don’t know they exist, or they think that they are too complex to understand and the opportunities are not worth the effort. Wrong!

If you take the time to develop a credits and incentives plan, your company can capture a piece of the $50 billion pie. Here’s how!

Key Elements of a Tax Credits and Incentives Plan

Outline your key opportunity indicators. Key opportunity indicators are events that your team should come to know and understand that trigger the potential for credits and incentives. They typically revolve around your people and your investment in fixed assets. On the people side, opportunity indicators often involve increases or decreases in employment, turnover, relocations and employee training or retraining. On the fixed asset side, opportunity indicators include site selection and start-up, capital investment, leases and renewals, building acquisitions, facility upgrades and so on. Make a list of these indicators and train your team to spot them. Once an opportunity is spotted, investigate further and contact your CPA to see if it might benefit your business.

Understand that timing is everything. To give your business the best chance of securing a credit or incentive, you must understand that timing is everything. To secure many credits and incentives, the process of securing the opportunity happens well in advance of hiring, training or purchasing fixed assets. In many instances, if your business has hired the employee, spent money on the training or purchased the fixed asset — it is too late. Once you’ve spent the money or announced your plans to the public, you’ve lost most if not all of your ability to negotiate. Understanding this and putting a plan in place to uncover the opportunity well in advance of the investment will put you in a position for maximum success. And outlining your key opportunity indicators is the first step to realizing the potential credits and incentives available to you.

Get your entire team on board. Securing maximum credit and incentive opportunities isn’t just the job of your owner, CFO or CPA. It should also be the job of your HR department, training coordinator and safety director. The more your entire team is able to understand the key opportunity indicators and that timing is everything, the greater chance of success you will have.

Tax Credit Help

If you’re looking to capitalize on these credits and incentives opportunities and would like to learn more, email Rea & Associates. The sooner you move on this, the faster you’ll be able to realize the benefits.

Without the tax deduction, you will pay a little more in income taxes but you will be left with more money in your bank account at the end of the day.

Have you ever heard someone say they couldn’t afford to pay off their loan because they would lose the interest deduction on their tax return?

Although it’s true that the taxpayer will be able to deduct their loan interest at tax time, there’s a lot more to consider – read on to learn more about the tax treatment of loans and interest to identify a repayment strategy that works best for you.

It Is Worth It To Be In Debt?

Let’s assume that you are in the 25 percent tax bracket, which means that for every dollar you pay the bank in interest, the government will give you 25 cents back in tax savings. BUT – you have to remember that you are still out of pocket 75 cents of every dollar you pay the bank in interest. From an overall cash flow standpoint, that doesn’t really sound like a winning strategy to me.

Even though it would be nice to have a tax break to look forward to in the spring, you will ultimately end up paying more over the duration of your repayment period if you choose not to pay your loan off. That being said, if you have the funds available to pay off the principal loan balance you will save yourself the cost of the interest you are being charged by the bank.

Without the tax deduction, you will pay a little more in income taxes but you will be left with more money in your bank account at the end of the day.

Possible Reasons to Hold On To Your Loan

Investment Opportunities

Let’s say your loan balance is $50,000. If you have $50,000 of excess funds available to pay off your loan, you may also want to consider what your investment options are if you didn’t pay that loan off. Could you earn a rate of return greater than the interest rate you are paying on your loan? If so, then you may be better off keeping the loan and investing your excess funds.

Liquidity

Another consideration is the liquidity. You may have the funds to pay off the loan but you may want to keep a reserve of funds for an emergency or unknown need that may arise. Everyone has their own comfort level when it comes to maintaining an excess supply of cash reserves and your decision may vary whether you are holding on to a home mortgage loan or a business loan. As a business owner, for example, you might find it to be more beneficial to keep the borrowed money readily available to cover any fluctuations pertaining to your company’s equipment or inventory needs. Or you may want to keep a reserve of funds to get through your slow season.

Depending on where you are with your business or personal finances, you’ll want to consider various factors when deciding if you should pay off your mortgage or business loan. If you are only looking at the tax savings, then paying off the loan is likely your best option. However, it may also be important to consider other factors such as alternative investment options and liquidity. If you have questions about paying off your loan, email your Rea advisor.

Don’t Leave Money on the Table

If your business is thinking of hiring or training employees or investing in fixed assets, you might qualify for a tax credit. But, tax credits need to be considered up front. Once you miss the boat on applying for them, it’s too late, even if you would have been a perfect candidate.

Securing these types of credits and incentives can dramatically improve your return on investment. (more…)